Former striker of Kyiv’s Dynamo Valeriy Porkuyan shared impressions of the Club World Cup 2025 and named the favorite in the final of this tournament, in which today French PSG will play against London’s Chelsea.
Valeriy Porkuyan— The Club World Cup this year has garnered increased interest. We see that football has already managed to fill the hearts of sports lovers in the USA. This is evidenced by the filled or even overcrowded stands of stadiums in different cities. Although some matches in the group stage did not have maximum attendance, each subsequent match attracted more and more spectators.
This tournament featured many interesting confrontations between representatives of European and South American football. The development of events has shown that to date, football in Europe still surpasses other continents in its level. This is not surprising, as the leading championships on the planet are considered to be those of England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France. It is these super clubs from these countries that have become the highlight of the Club World Cup. Naturally, many expected that giants such as “Real,” “Manchester City,” “Bayern,” and Milan’s “Inter” would progress as far as possible in the tournament bracket, but that did not happen. What can you do — that’s football. It is unpredictable.
— What can you say about the semifinals, which are currently the true highlight of the tournament?
— In one of the semifinal pairs, London’s “Chelsea” faced Brazilian “Fluminense.” I really liked this team for its organization of play, cohesion, and fighting spirit. It is no coincidence that it was the only non-European team to reach the semifinals. During the match, there was a moment when the Brazilians, in my opinion, deserved a penalty to be awarded, but that did not happen. More experienced “Chelsea” managed to tip the scales in their favor (2:0, — ed.). The high skill level of London’s “stars” was evident, each of whom is worth millions of euros.
As for the other semifinal pair — PSG vs “Real” (4:0), this game impressed me. It seems that the coaching staff of the Parisians, led by Luis Enrique, analyzed the Madrid team’s defensive play so thoroughly that the fate of the match was decided in the first half. PSG literally crushed their illustrious opponent, outplaying them in every aspect. Against the backdrop of the French team’s game, which was in high spirits and created everything they wanted on the field, “Real” looked pale. Not even the fact that Mbappe was playing against his former team helped.
“Paris Saint-Germain” is currently setting trends in modern football. Their overwhelmingly convincing 5:0 victory in the Champions League final, along with the aforementioned success in the semifinal of the Club World Cup, speaks volumes about this.
— What do you expect from the final, where “Paris Saint-Germain” will meet “Chelsea”?
— After what PSG has been doing this year, the likelihood of their victory is quite high. However, it should not be forgotten that football is an unpredictable game, and at such a level as the Club World Cup, anything can happen. “Chelsea” is also capable of showing high-quality football, as we have seen numerous times already. Therefore, it will be even more interesting to watch this game. I expect a hard-fought and uncompromising battle, in which I will still give the advantage to PSG.
Vyacheslav Kulchytskyi
